Pictures as thousands turnout for Jeremy Corbyn at rainy North East rally

Reporter

Thousands turned out in the rain to welcome Jeremy Corbyn to the North East as the Labour leader visited the region.

Supporters chanted his name as he walked onto the stage outside the Sage Gateshead to speak about his vision for Britain.

Mr Corbyn also visited County Durham, Middlesbrough and Blyth on Monday as parties fight for every vote in the run up to Thursday's General Election.

A poll this morning puts Labour and the Conservatives at neck-and-neck, with the Tory leader over Mr Corbyn's party slashed by 16 points in a month.

The Survation poll for Good Morning Britain put the Tories on 41.5% with Labour on 40.4%.

The Conservatives had a 17-point lead with the pollster at the start of May, but Labour’s rise reflected a campaign which more than half of those polled thought had been better than Theresa May’s.

The latest poll put the Liberal Democrats on 6% and Ukip on 3%.

Half of those surveyed thought Mrs May would make a better prime minister than Jeremy Corbyn, but his personal credibility has increased 15 points to 36% since the first Survation/GMB poll on May 5-6. Mrs May’s rating has dropped 10 points over the same period.

Some 51% of respondents thought Labour has had the best campaign - including 30% of Tory voters - while just 23% thought Mrs May’s party had performed better.